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www.cornard.info |
The Great Cornard Information Website |
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Cornard News - Editorials |
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Page updated - 30 November 2010 |
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Cornard News - This Editorial, below, was previously published in Cornard News |
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Introducing Numpty You may feel that this editorial is light-hearted but it is on a very important and serious subject. There are many subjects that make some people quite emotional. Football, good food, ‘soaps’ on TV, music, etc and the list could go on. Most of these, although they give a lot of pleasure, don’t have a real bearing on our daily life. What does ‘foul-up’ most of our lives, on a daily basis, is pointless mindless bureaucracy & paranoia.
I imagine if you will, a barren landscape. It is featureless and there is NOTHING from horizon to horizon except a person. This person is standing there in a biohazard suit, steel toe-tipped ‘wellies’, hard-hat, full-face mask, ear protectors, breathing apparatus, Hi-Viz jacket & trousers and holding a clipboard: Meet Numpty.
Numpty is incapable of completely rational reasoning and cannot contribute anything, positive, to any situation. The fact is that Numpty does not have a real practical experience or understanding of many situations and is incapable of really coherent logical reasoning. If you think Numpty does not exist then have a look around you in our daily live. Why should anyone feel it is necessary to have a Danger of Death sign, usually twice on an electricity supply pole, WHY? I reckon that anyone stupid enough to want to climb the pole without good reason & understanding of what they are doing, deserves ‘all they get’ and wouldn’t take notice of the sign anyway.
Did I hear someone say ‘It’s Heath & Safety’? No it isn’t, it’s Numpty’s paranoia! So-called Health & Safety, of this type, is killing people. Why, because they have been so ‘protected’ for potentially dangerous situation, the ‘folks’ have had no ‘education’ in recognising danger. I could easily list a number of potentially dangerous situations in this Editorial but there would be someone who would do whatever I mentioned and Numpty would be ‘banging on the door’ waiving bits of paper and threatening legal action.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a time when kids were allowed to have a childhood free from Numpty. Perhaps I have past my ‘Best before’ date but, having worked in various, sometimes quite hazardous, ‘industries’ and had various pastimes I have managed to live this long without serious injury simply by using basic commonsense based on my upbringing and the occasional ‘brush’ with danger. My body developed an immune system because households were not ‘full’ of potentially hazardous planet-damaging chemicals, in spray and liquid forms, with the power to ‘exterminate’ all types of germs and bacteria. I also respected the meaning of the words ‘no’, ‘don’t’, & ‘personal responsibility’, sadly words now missing from frequent everyday usage thanks largely to Numpty.
If Numpty wants something useful to do then stop using unfounded, and meaningless, phrases & excuses and remove all the signs where any instruction or ‘danger’ is blindingly obvious. The Numpty effect is often found in industry or commerce but what really happens here is that the manufactured product or service is less competitive in the market-place due to overburdening pointless procedures and restrictive red-tape. Creating documents in simple English and not gobbledegook would really help. Numpty is very good at wasting your time & money on pointless exercises.
Finally, another non-productive process is the Oozlum bird effect. Normally it is fine and goes about its daily business. When startled it rushes around at an increasing speed in ever decreasing circles. Finally it defies most rules of physics and disappears. I wonder if ‘we’ could get Numpty to do this?
I resist succumbing to the whims of Numpty. Don’t let Numpty ruin your life, make a stand against Numpty.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor & Anti Numpty Campaigner Issue 44 - Winter 2010 – 17 November 2010
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Community & Community Spirit Following the last editorial, I must say how surprised I was to receive so many positive comments from so many ‘folks’. I can honestly say that, to date, I have heard of no critical comments although this could change now I have made this statement!
As there was less than a year to go before the full re-election of all Councillors, the Parish Council decided to Co-Opt a Councillor. I was one of the two residents who submitted their names and, some may say that, I drew the short-straw and was Co-Opted. As I was not elected I need to work even harder to prove my position on the Parish Council is justified. For possible interest, I am an independent Independent with no political allegiance to any political party either now or in the past. My manifesto is whatever you convince me it should be . . . providing it is legal but I have no intention of wasting my time on pointless exercises.
Before I am accused of ‘electioneering’ let me just mention a few words about our Community and Community Spirit. In any Community the quality of life is potentially higher for those who get involved with the local community either by contributing or by experiencing the benefits of the local environment.
Although I do not wish to ‘steal the thunder’ from some other contributors in this issue it is fair to acknowledge that most of ‘us’, me included, do not fully appreciate Great Cornard, its environment and what is needed to maintain it.
On the positive-side we have some wonderful open spaces such as the Recreation Ground and the field ‘above’ the Allotments; walking & wildlife areas such as The Country Park, Shawlands Wood & Bank and miles (some may prefer kilometres) of accessible Public Footpaths; also Community-use Venues such as The Stevenson Centre and the Library.
Sadly not all of it ‘comes for free’. Some may feel that sometimes our Community Warden, Andy Nunny, would appear to be paid for having to do some of the same jobs again and again. This is not a criticism of Andy but the fact that within our Community there are a few who seem hell-bent on creating unnecessary work or who may just be lazy or very stupid.
My comments are aimed at those who intentionally leave litter and broken glass around the village, are incapable of responsible dog-ownership or seem to have nothing better to do than to vandalise. All of these are anti-social and unacceptable. Most of these ‘folks’ probably do not ‘act’ the same in their own homes so why do they act in this way in Our Community, it may be that all they need is educating. If this fails then perhaps they need to be shamed or even fined.
There is still considerable anxiety over the proposed East of Carsons Drive development. The visual impact & traffic problems are the major concerns outstanding, neither of which has been satisfactorily addressed in the planning application. The Local Plan stated that planning permission would not be granted until the highway issues are resolved and this will be questioned at the Full Babergh District Council meeting on the 31 August 2010.
Finally, ‘we’ (Cornard News Mafia) make an appeal for some assistance with some of the little jobs associated with compiling the issues such as collecting or writing ‘copy’, editing or layout? If nothing else, perhaps someone could offer some more imaginative graphics than the ones we KEEP using!
We are a small friendly group that meet ‘down the pub’ and have light-hearted but productive meetings. We only have four issues a year so please give it some serious thought. If you leave a phone number with the Parish Council Office, we can have a chat.
Long live the positive aspects of Community & Community Spirit.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 43 - Autumn 2010 – 15 August 2010
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Oh no, not again . . . I have just learnt that yet another Parish Councillor has resigned apparently because he ‘disagreed’ with a decision made in a democratic process. The positive aspect of a democratic process is that everyone involved has the opportunity to put his or her point and also to vote. The negative, but only for some, is that ‘you can’t win ‘em all’ but surely that is democracy. Perhaps some Councillors want inequality and a dictatorship. For me, the quicker they leave the Council the better.
After reading and hearing some of the reports in the news media there is a tendency to feel that all Councillors are ‘tarred with the same brush’ and that is definitely NOT the case. The Parish Councillors that have recently ‘left’ the Parish Council are probably no great loss as they obviously did not take the position seriously enough to honour the undertaking made to the voters to represent them for their FULL Term of Office. Some may say ‘Good riddance’.
Parish Councillors are usually residents of the area and volunteer to stand for election. Normally, they do not expect to receive payment for their service to the Community although some readers may feel there have may been some exceptions to this in the past. I firmly believe that most Councillors are doing their utmost to represent the residents, who elected them, to the best of their abilities and ARE doing a good job without payment.
Now some facts and figures. Councillors and the Dates the ‘vacancies’ were declared: Robert Sims (11 Dec 2009), Mrs Carol Webb (19 Jan 2010), Peter Beer (12 Feb 2010) and Neville Proctor (30 Apr 2010). The rules are that 14 days must elapse (excluding Bank Holidays and weekends) to allow 10 or more of the registered electors in the Ward to write and call for an election.
Call me a cynic, if you wish, but it seems a strange coincidence that three of the dates are about a month apart AND on the first three occasions at least ten registered voters wrote in. As it often seems that a high degree of public apathy usually surrounds the business of Councils (just visit a Council meeting) I am surprised by the recent sequence of events.
I am told that some local residents have discussed the events and, allegedly, now have compunction to use the word 'orchestrated' but I was not 'party' to their private and confidential meetings.
After doing a little ‘digging’, apparently another ‘penalty’ of these resignations is that EVERY time an election takes place in either of the Great Cornard Wards there is a cost of about £2,700. This cost may be paid from the Parish Council but the money actually comes from each and every one of the, currently, 3554 households who pay Council Tax.
Luckily the election for the first two vacancies were held at the same time but if another election is called that will be a cost of about £8100 or an average cost of about £2-28 per household. Money not previously allocated for elections and hence money that cannot NOW be spent on facilities or services in YOUR VILLAGE.
When casting votes one tries to vote wisely for the candidate who will actually represent ones best interests. Perhaps there needs to be a change in the accountability rules for those who voluntarily represent us. The Good Ones would gain even more respect from us but the others would need to be far more accountable especially those with a private agenda.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 42 - Summer 2010 - 16 May 2010
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IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD . . . There are some very unpleasant people out there and many of them operate using the Internet as a ‘cover’ to maintain their anonymity.
Recently I have received a couple of emails offering me a ‘Refund’ allegedly from HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs), also known as the ‘Tax Man’. The whole thing looks quite ‘legit’ as it should do as most of the form, including all the Help links, have been ‘ripped off’ from the HMRC Website. Although HMRC do (occasionally?) make refunds they don’t do it in quite this way and they would NOT need all your Credit Card details INCLUDING your password. Everything is ‘HMRC based’ UNTIL you go to ‘submit’ the form and this is then directed to an email address many, many miles from the UK. There would probably be a money transfer but NOT in your favour.
Another area of concern is all these ‘so called’ charity collections appear to be an incessant stream of plastic bags and, occasionally, A5 flyers. They come ‘bearing’ many names and ‘offering’ good to the needy. One such is The Hand Of Help LTD and Rutex Ltd are run by a Lithuanian who has been at the centre of several investigations by Advertising Standards and are banned from collecting in several Council areas around the UK. If you doubt this, just do a Google Search on these names. Sadly there are many others who give misleading information and are basically scams. Try phoning them and asking how much more they actually donate. I tried but failed to get a satisfactory answer, perhaps a Foreign Phrase Book may have helped.
I recommend that the best use for these plastic bags is to recycle them. They are reasonably strong and fit in a most domestic rubbish bins including flip-top bins. Do the ‘right thing’ and recycle!
It has been said that a fool and their money are soon parted. Please don’t be a fool.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 41 - Spring 2010 - 14 Feb 2010
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TEN YEARS AND COUNTING This issue of Cornard News brings us to the end of our tenth year. When we started, who would have thought that we would make complete a decade? There were one or two who thought we would not even produce the first issue but we did and the ‘copy’ still continues to arrive. The early issues were only 8 pages but now, due to the amount of received ‘copy’, Cornard News usually has 12 pages and there have even been 16 page issues.
This achievement has only been possible due to the tremendous support from the Cornard News Editorial Board (also known as the Cornard News Mafia), Great Cornard Parish Council, a dedicated group of ‘deliverers’, copious ‘copy’ from numerous sources but most importantly, YOU, because without the support of the readership Cornard News would not have been possible for several reasons.
The main purpose for Cornard News was to be a Newsletter to enhance the sense of Community within Great Cornard. It is believed to have achieved this in a number of areas BUT, because there are still some areas to be tackled, it is planned that Cornard News will continue for at least another ten years and with some ‘younger’ members on the ‘Board’. If you feel you could be one of the younger members, please contact us and we can have a chat.
Another aspect of Community is found on www.cornard.info where, amongst a number of other things, details are listed for local Clubs, Groups & Organisations, Local Trades, Local Diary items, Hobbies & Interests and an area dedicated to content from Great Cornard Parish Council. If you want to have details listed or need corrections to existing details, visit the website and follow the Get Yourself Noticed hyperlink to the email hyperlink.
The website currently has about 800 pages and nearly 5000 hyperlinks with weekly updates. Please visit the website frequently and if you feel something is missing or wrong then feel free to send an email with your thoughts.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 40 - Winter 2009 - 16 Nov 2009
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WHAT YOU DON'T SEE You may be interested in learning a little about what happens, or sometimes does not happen, ‘behind the scenes’.
Contributors to Cornard News receive no payment for the copy and the majority write the articles in their own time. The emphasis is always to try and carry a selection of articles that will be of interest to the greatest number of residents of our village. To continue to satisfy this objective it was felt that articles on Household Recycling from Babergh Council, Local Policing Initiatives from Suffolk Constabulary and a Young Adults input from Cornard Upper School would be appropriate. The appropriate individuals were contacted and each made a commitment to supply ‘copy’ by a mutually agreed date. Sadly, all those contacts have failed to keep their promises despite being re-contacted after the date and reminded. All of them have my telephone number and most have my email address so I am looking forward to receiving an explanation from them.
On their behalf I offer an apology for their failure and wonder if the more sceptical amongst us should take this as an example of these organisations real commitment to our village community. Why is it that some folks can write and get an article to me within 48 hours but some organisations fail to produce anything in 48 days? Your answers would be appreciated.
On the brighter side, more articles from the folks who do value our village community have been included in this issue proving every cloud does have a silver lining.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 23 - Autumn 2005 - 03 August 2005
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INFORMATION, INFORMATION, INFORMATION It sometimes seems that information is ‘coming-at-us’ from every direction and we can easily ‘drown’ in an ‘information-lake’ (is that an acceptable EU term?) unless we can focus on what information is of value to us and which is not. Anyone who has driven in an unfamiliar large town will have probably been ‘bombarded’ and, possibly, confused by some of road signs. Even in Great Cornard we still have two Recycling Centre signs but where is the Recycling Centre to go with the signs?
‘Love it’ or ‘loath it’ the Internet is a valuable source of information providing you know where to look. Sometimes it has felt that www stands for World Wide Wait and not World Wide Web and then there is further frustration when a search returns ‘No matches found’ or, even worse, over 300,000 matches. To address some of these problems there is a new Information Website for the village that states ‘The concept for this Website was to offer a source of information and contact details for the residents in the village of Great Cornard and the surrounding area but everyone is more than welcome to use it.’
The address is www.cornard.info and because it is has only recently been launched and the content is increasing almost daily it is worth a visit both now and probably in the near future to see how it is developing. Even if you do not have a computer you will be very welcome at the Cornard Library (Tel: 296085) and the Community Drop-In Centre (Tel: 312012) where full Internet access is available and it’s FREE. Now that has to be a good deal!
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 18 - Summer 2004 - 13 May 2004
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YESTERDAY, TODAY and TOMORROW? How time does ‘fly’. It hardly seems possible but we are entering our fifth year of Cornard News with issue 17, it only seems like yesterday. I know we only publish four times a year but that still amounts to a lot of effort and grateful thanks has to go to all who have contributed to the success over the years. The ‘thanks’ must go to those who have supplied ‘copy’ and written letters (some of them we published), the ‘team’ that have carried out research, interviews and written ‘copy’. Also those who help distribute Cornard News to about 3200 households in Great Cornard and the Parish Council for their support. Most, if not all, of these ‘folks’ are happy to volunteer their time and efforts without any public recognition. I will not embarrass them by publishing their names but they know who they are.
Volunteering is not for everyone but when you have a little spare time or could ‘make’ a little spare time try and do something useful with it. There may be a family member or friend that you have lost contact with and would like to locate. How many of us send Christmas cards to people that we NEVER contact during the rest of the year? There will be a few, I’m sure. If you send them a Christmas card why not contact them at other times of the year. If you sent a card but did not get one, try and contact them again, and preferably today, but make sure you give some contact details as they may have lost your address and if they don’t wish to keep the acquaintance then at least you have saved the cost of a stamp next Christmas.
Most of us have a long list of ‘things’ that we want to do in the future but I can only suggest that you try and do as many ‘things’ as you can today. Although it would seem to be OK putting off until tomorrow the ‘things’ you do not have to do today, you may find you are less able to do them tomorrow and, technically speaking, tomorrow never comes.
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 17 - Spring 2004 - 15 Feb 2004
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THIS AND THAT Once again emotive words on the subject of ‘by-product of dog’ (dog mess) appear in Cornard News. If you consider yourself to be a responsible dog please write to me with your comments and suggestions.
There are some readers who think that the letters to the Editor are actually written by the Editorial Board. This is not the case and the ‘Name & Address supplied’ really means what it says and the name & address is not printed as a matter of policy. Sadly we are limited for space and unable to print many of the letters. We do read them all and several have instigated other actions being taken around the village, so please keep sending them in.
Once again we are over subscribed with articles and advertising for this issue. I must apologise to several contributors who have received far less space than they anticipated or failed to be included in this issue. The ‘pending’ articles are already in the folder for the next issue. If space and priority permits we will have the Gardening Tips and Webster’s Links in the next issue.
One further apology is for the lack of apostrophes in Issue 13 they were included in the original layout but got ‘lost’ at the printers due to a ‘disagreement’ between two computer systems. This electronic stuff is far too temperamental and will never catch on!!!
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 14 - Summer 2003 - 09 May 2003
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WILD LIFE OR WILDLIFE It is very easy to take our environment for granted because we live in it every day. It is only when there is a significant change to it that we really notice what is around us, or worse than that, what we have lost. The Black Poplar Conservation, Stour Valley Project and building a Bird Box will all have positive effects on the environment.
Many of us develop routines to do all the things we need to do but as creatures of habit we can get into a rut and become so cut off from things around us we do not notice the changes. Perhaps more importantly we do not appreciate the environment in and around Cornard.
If you need to make a short car journey, and are able to do so, add a few minutes to your journey time and walk. You may be surprised what we have in our environment. Some things are good and some are not so good however it may just make you want to change some of the not-so-good bits.
If you rise-to-the-challenge and do something for the environment, do let me know what you have done. How about buying, or better still building, a Bird Box?
Tony Harman - Cornard News - Editor Issue 13 - Spring 2003 - 15 February 2003
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